Silver Star
by Rain Smallwaters
Summary: Vincent Matthew Goodwill, a boy born mute is tired of his miserable life in Mineral Town. After a close call with a gang of bullies he decides it is best if he starts a new life by going to the island where his cousin, Chelsea, lived, for starters. Leaving his behind his best friend and 18 years of his life. He promises Gray he will return for him. BL warning! Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

This is my first fanfiction. So go easy on me, but I do appreciate reviews! Good, bad, sucky, tell me what you think!

Harvest Moon:

Summary: Vincent Matthew Goodwill is born mute. No other explanation from the doctor other than, "His vocal cords just didn't form. I'm sorry, Ma'am." Regardless of his muteness, however, he grew up to a splendid young boy. His older cousin, Chelsea, is constantly by his side. They played games together, went to parties together, and even studied sign language together with Vincent. When Vincent meets Gray, they become fast friends. Chelsea still showered them with love and kindness. When Vincent is 9 and Chelsea is 18, Chelsea moves away from Mineral Town to start a new life in Sunshine Island. This fanfiction is told from the P.O.V. of Vincent.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I do not own Harvest Moon nor the characters of harvest moon. The only thing I own is the storyline and Vincent Matthew Goodwill as well as any other OC there are.

Setting: This fanfiction starts in Mineral Town, long after Jack has moved into the farm. He has helped the small town thrive into a bustling suburb where there are hotels other than Doug's Inn, storms and even cabin houses for travelers on the mountains. Later, Vincent ,moves to Sunshine Island where there will be a little bit of change. The town people have no changed so I'm going to make Jack's arrival in Mineral Town BEFORE Rick, Gray (and many of the other villagers) were born.

P.O.V. The P.O.V. may change from third to first, but first person is always Vincent.

R&R!

-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-

"Are you sure you don't want any help with your-"**SLAM. **Enough was enough. Vincent sank onto his bed with a sigh and looked at his report card, "Congratulations on being valedictorian, Vincent Matthew Goodwill! Have a splendid summer and we wish you the best in your future plans!" It read. Vincent sat back up again and walked towards his study desk ruffling around the drawers looking for thumb tacks or staples. Finding neither, he looked around for his small ball of blue tack. Ripping off two small pieces he tacked the report card onto his wall and stepped back to admire his work, "Another hundred to add to my proof."

After that was done he didn't know what else to do. He was bored. He had finished his classes as of yesterday so there was no homework to be due tomorrow, not to mention tomorrow was Saturday anyways. He didn't want to leave his room. His mother was probably guarding the stairway downstairs to catch him coming out of his room.

Vincent had enough of his mother. She was kind, gentle and very much a good mother, but sometimes he felt that his mother was too much and too good of a mother. He hated it. Everywhere he went, "Where are you going? Be sure to return by 5pm!" 5pm, not even close to the average time other children returned home from their midday wandering around Mineral Town.

"Vincent, it just means I love you. I care for you. You know how special you are." His mother had told him whenever he questioned his curfew. Rick didn't have such a early curfew, neither did Gray or Kai, or whoever. Not to mention, Vincent was 18!

Vincent was born mute. Trent's father, who had helped Millicent birth Vincent, almost died of a heart attack upon Vincent's birth, as did everyone else in the room. "He's not crying! Not crying! My baby's not crying! Doctor!" Grandma had always told me whenever she felt like telling me about my birthday.

"The Doctor almost died on the spot. The baby was not crying and everybody thought you were dead! But no….. my little Vincent was a strong boy! You weren't dead, just not crying. HA! I remember your mother's face." There was no other explanation from the Doctor other than, "Genetics" and "Vocal cords just did not form!" That was that. One Spring 24th, Vincent Jacob Goodwill was born to a single mother, Millicent Jennifer Goodwill. Other than not being able to utter a single word or make a single sound when grunting and crying or laughing, he was perfectly healthy, perfectly happy. Not only was he a healthy little boy, but he was a smart boy as well. Never was there a subject that he did not understand. Vincent graduated high school as valedictorian, top of the class, pride of the family.

One year older than himself was Gray Blacksmith, the grandson of the local blacksmith, Saibara. Gray was a quiet boy and was constantly alone and most probably the grumpiest boy in class. Millicent was introduced to Saibara when she was looking around for a necklace for her friend, Amy, for her 20th birthday. "Look for the an old man." They told her, "best blacksmith in town!" So she did. She wheeled her 11 month old son in and went to look around for a necklace. When she returned she almost died from freight when she found the baby stroller was empty. After a few minutes of searching she came across Saibara's grandson, playing with Vincent. The two quickly became fast friends and at times, when Millicent was out doing her job, Saibara became, not only a blacksmith, but a baby sitter as well.

Chelsea was Vincent's older cousin by 9 years. "Favorite cousin in the whole wide world," Vincent called her. "The best dinosaur and the best princess in all the world too!" he told to everyone. When Chelsea was around, everything was perfect. Everyone was kind. Everything was as it should be. Chelsea left to a new life, outside of Mineral Town, when she turned 18. "I'll come back," she had told Vincent and Gray. "I'll bring back suitcases full of candy and all the action figures you want." Nine years went by and she never did show back up in Mineral Town. She did write to Vincent a couple of times, but her letters abruptly stopped with her last one three years back explaining her marriage to a guy named William and that she was pregnant with what she hoped was a boy and what William had hoped to be a girl.

Vincent sat back down on his bed when he heard his mother ascending the stairs and walking towards his bedroom. _She never was one for patience_, he thought to himself. He blew a sigh of irritation and curled into his bed, knowing that even if his mother had the keys to his room, she would never bother him if he was sleep. Since he often took afterschool naps to balance out his early morning/late night schedules, his sleeping wouldn't be a strange thing.

Apparently, today was a different story though. Millicent did unlock the door and at the sound of her key's clicking, Vincent attempted to loosen up his position into a more natural and relaxed sleeping position to make it more convincing. Millicent waltz in his room like a queen and shook him, "Wake up! Vince dear?"

"Vince dear" meant she wanted something from him, usually something he would hate her for, "Vince? Vincent? Wake up." Vincent mentally sighed and opened his eyes, "What ma?" he signed. "I was asleep." He tried his best to imitate his early morning gestures, pretending that they felt lead heavy from being too tired in the morning.

"Yes. I know, but this is important." It never was important. Important would be that she finally got the letter from her husband that was proof that he was done with her and that he had divorced her and that she needed to stop dreaming. Important was that she needed him to support him through the divorce process as her dreams fell apart. It never was "important" though. She never let him do anything that was truly important.

Millicent was ignorant. Of the 18 years of Vincent's life, she had never known him to be an "intelligent being." To her, Vincent's muteness was no different from mental retardation. She treated him slow. Nothing could shake her of her belief that her son was "in need of a gentle caretaker" because he may start crying or was so fragile he may break. She considered him to be slow enough that she had once sent in a special education tutor, who didn't come back the next day, "He doesn't need me ma'am," he told her. She wouldn't have it. "My son needs you! He needs a teacher!"

It wasn't until she had gotten mad at her son, one time too random, and locked him in the cellar that Trent came up with the conclusion that she of bipolar disorder with hints of delusion. "She misses her husband. That's all." On her good days, her manic days, she treated him like a living teddy bear, incapable of surviving on its own. On her bad days, she wished him dead. She wished him gone. Whatever day or mood she was in however, she considered him useless. One moment she'd say, "No, my dear love. These letters are important. These letters are too difficult for you to read. You won't understand them. No…no…it's just too hard for you, dear." and the next she would flat out ask him, "What are you? Stupid?," she'd drink herself to sleep for several days at a time until her good side came back. On those days, Vincent stayed with Gray.

"What is it? Can I help?" he always asked that. He had a slight flicker of hope in him that he held onto, _Maybe it's actually important and she actually needs me this time?_

WRONG.

"I need you to go and dump the trash okay? If it's too hard I can-"

"I'll do it. I'm awake." I smiled, leaping out of bed, "see?" she merely nods and walks out. It was the calm before the storm, the transition from good to bad. Maybe I should head over to Gray's to see if I could stay with him again. See if Saibara would allow me to stay over again. It was usually fine, Saibara pitied him after all, along with half of the villagers in Mineral Town, most of the time they were the mature adults. They pitied him for his mother's behavior, not his muteness. In a sense, they were more of a family to him than his mother in denial.

He grabbed the trash bags around the house, only leaving the ones that were less than half full or were only filled with paper. Heading out of the second floor bathroom he noticed his mother's bedroom. The door was closed. It was only closed on her bad days. _Gotta get the hell outta here before hell blows a fuse, _Vincent thought to himself. He tied up the trash bags and descended the stairs. Instead of his usual two stairs at a time feat that his mother often scolded him for, he went down the stairs as quietly as possible.

Slipping out the front door he could see that the sun was still high in the sky. _It's probably noon. _He glanced back at the house. The last time he was out was this morning to get his report card out of the mail and that resulted in Millicent trailing behind him in case he needed to know how to open the mailbox, as if he didn't know from his 18 years of experience. There was no sign of Millicent following him this time. Vincent dropped the trash in the bin and scurried away from the house that was now a time-bomb.

XXXXX

"Gray! It's Vincent!" Saibara called out to the back of the shop where Gray often worked on his own training jobs. Vincent knew Saibara was often harsh and very critical of Gray's work and wondered if Gray had been yelled at today; "That's too thin. The metal will break!" or "That's too thick! The hammer's too heavy!" As Gray appeared from the back furnace, the sour expression on his face answered Vincent's question. "Take a break. It's lunch time anyways." Gray only grunted in response to Saibara's annoyance. He didn't yell at Gray though. He hardly did when Vincent was around.

"Give me a moment to clean up, Vince," and with that he went into the bathroom.

Saibara turned to Vincent, "How are you, young lad?" he asked.

"Mom's about to blow a fuse again. It's the calm before the storm. You can feel it like an old man feels the rain in his bones." Vincent scribbled on a notepad he had manage to find around the house. Other than Chelsea, Gray and his mother, nobody else truly knew sign language. He had seen Gray teach Saibara simple praises but after a few lessons he dismissed it with, "I'm too old to learn a new language." Doug, Elli, and Trent knew a couple of greetings, but nothing they could communicate with Mineral Town's only mute, so they quickly gave up as well, suggesting that him writing it out might as well be a quicker way.

"Ah. I'm sorry lad. If she comes this way I'll tell her I have not seen you."

"Thanks Saibara. I'm going to camp out with Gray again. The weather is nice enough to spend a few days in the woods."

"Come on!" Gray said, his tone laced with anger and attitude, earning him a glare from Saibara. "Gray! This sweet boy is offering you to camp out. Behave yourself. Do you understand?" he asked sternly. Gray only nodded and with a grip almost as painful as a lobster's, he dragged the brunette out of the blacksmith.

The first few minutes of the walk towards Doug's Inn was silent. It wasn't an awkward silent. It was pretty common. One of mute the other was fuming, and usually grumpy and silent on the average day anyways. Knowing Saibara was the reason his best friend was angry, Vincent skipped the "What's wrong?" question and went right on to "Too thin or too thick?"

"TOO. !" he growled, kicking a rock. Vincent gave out a laughed, almost a soundless laugh. "He means well." He signed. That was something he told him every time Saibara was disapproving of his work. "Besides aren't all masters harsh to their apprentices?"

"Blah. He's not a master. Just a mean, senile, old man." He said kicking another stone. He glanced at his best friend, "You?"

"She'd gonna blow. I'm thinking of staying away from like…a good two weeks." I grinned. "Camping? For two weeks?! Gramps is gonna kill me." Vincent shrugged, "Camp as long as you can and for the remainder I'll…" Vincent gave a good deep though into that.

Gray smacked his shoulder, "Lighten up bud. I'll camp for a week. That's more than enough time to think of a place to stay." Vincent nodded.

XXXX

At Gray's place, Vincent watched as his best friend looked for his usual absurdly large green camping bag. Vincent having the notepad helped by making a decent checklist of the things they needed. "Water, food and snacks?"

"Check."

"Tent kit?"

"Check."

"Flashlight? Matches?"

"Check. Check."

"Mattresses? Blankets?"

"Check."

"Fishing poles?"

"Got that too."

"Then we're set," Vincent grinned.

Bounding down the stairs of the inn, Vincent almost toppled down the stairs. Doug looked up from his spot at the counter. "What's the rush boys?" he eyed the large bag Gray was carrying, "Going camping again?"

"Yep! We're heading to the woods near the hot springs. It's perfect and according to the weather channel, perfect weather." Gray answered. Doug sighed and came over to Vincent patting his back, "Please take care of our little Gray. He can be a bit trouble sometimes," and with a wink he disappeared into the kitchen. Gray rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

"He's teasing."

"Don't care. Come on!"

XXXX

They set up camp in the woods south of Mark's farm and by 5 o'clock the tent was up and the fire was going. Marshmallows and chocolate were being passed between the two as they ate their before dinner snack. With one hand busy holding the stick of sweets to the fire, Vincent was not able to sign and resorted to writing again.

"Congrats, again, by the way." Gray said, poking another marshmallow onto his stick which already held about 5 of the fluffy candies. Vincent looked up and tilted his head for a second, his gesture for "speak more."

"For being first. For being top notch in brain power dude!" Gray said smacking Vincent in the back enough to make him choke. Vincent returned the smack, only to the back of the head and a lot less harder than the smith, "Trying to kill me?" he wrote. He looked at the paper before adding in, "but thanks. I tried hard for that. See? Those long weeks before summer vacation that I never hung out with you was worth it eh? Straight A's!"

"What did angel-devil say about that?" Angel-devil was their code name for Millicent.

Vincent shrugged, "Straight A's from me is no different to Straight F's to her. She didn't even care. Went straight on to asking if I needed help with putting my report card on my wall." After a moment he went on, "Sometimes I feel like she isn't bipolar or anything. Just vicious. Just using the word "bipolar" to mask her intentions. She told me I was the reason for Tyler's disappearance." Tyler was Vincent's father and the husband of Millicent. Gray rubbed Vincent's back, "I totally believe that. She's delusional."

"That's what the doc said."

"Being cheated on and doesn't' even know. Every sign in the world and every person in the world knows Tyler's a player, everyone but her."

"I know." I wrote and then added, "You know…she's been refusing her medicine lately."

There was a moment of silence after that and Vincent watched his marshmallow melt off the stick. He tossed the half charred stick into the fire and laid his head on Gray's shoulder. He sighed, more tired than ever. "Gray…I'm scared of what Millie will become."

XXXX

Blink, Scott and Devin Buggles were the bullies of Mineral Town. They came from a rich family. "Too rich to be in a place like Mineral Town," Gray had once said. They were the worst of the worst. The scums of the earth and all they knew how to do was pick their nose and spit on the ground walking down the streets. They dressed themselves in brand named clothes and polished their hands clean. "Smooth skin is the skin of lazy people." Saibara had once said. He had shown his own hands afterwards to Vincent and then Gray's hand. Saibara's hand was rough with years of hard work and Gray's was getting there as well.

Their parents were no better. Just as the three brothers sat around, spoiled rotten, their parents merely sat on their beach chairs 24/7 as their balance books and wallets got fat. "Money rolls like smooth rocks and pebbles down a mountain. Money is all that matters." Mr. Buggles had once said. Vincent swore that if you cut open their veins money would flow, rather than blood. "Money and butter," Gray corrected him. The Buggles were fat enough that the local movie theaters, restaurants, and other seated facilities needed to order special two seated chairs for both of them. Scott and Devin were no different. It was Blink everyone feared the most. He was 267 pounds of pure muscle and his fists were the size of a small grape fruit and his knuckles hard as rock. He threw rocks at Barley's cows and Rick's chickens. He threatened to kill May and Stu in their sleep if they didn't surrender their dolls over to him. He didn't play with them. He merely set them on fire and threw the ashes at them. He wasn't a fake bully either. He wasn't one of those bullies from the movie who had fought with their empty threats rather than their fists. No. Blink was the definition of scumbag, evil, and dangerous. He had a criminal history of robbery, attempted and failed, with and without weapons. He had beaten people into comas and with every crime came a heavy bail in which each were easily paid by his parents. The only person who intimidated the boy was Millicent on her bad days, in which Vincent wasn't the only victim. He didn't know whether to be relieved or scared of that fact, however.

The Buggle brothers caused trouble wherever they went. Whether it was at Jeff's grocery store, the doctor's, the church or the poultry or barn stores, the results were always something of the lines of destruction and/or violation of private property or robbery. The town was small, even if it was a bustling tourist attraction. Harris and his new apprentice, Arnold, alone couldn't handle the three.

In the town, the worst usually came from the stores, but at times, the worst was when school was out for good for the summer vacation and Vincent was free of school property. As the town's only mute. He was as easy of a target as anyone could get. Gray stuck by his younger friend as much as he possibly could, but the teen smith had to work on his career too. "I'll be fine." Vincent often said. "I'll be fine," often ended up in a black eye accompanied with about five to six other bruises and a broken rib or two. The worst part was Millicent. She changed from manic to anger in an extremely predictable way. It was easy for the Buggle brothers to figure out when to stay away from Vincent's home and when to ambush him. They knew where he went, half the times, and the best of their work; they hid their evidence like top ranked villains.

That's why Vincent and Gray weren't surprised to see the three of them standing outside of their tent on the fourth morning of their camping trip.

XXXX

"What the fuck do you want from us, Blink?" Gray sneered. Vincent crawled out, sleep still threatening to drag him back to the mattress in the tent. Only, the sense of panic overcame all of that and in an instance his panic became anger. Blink followed him here. He followed the two of them into the woods. _I knew it was a bad idea to come here. I knew it! Just damn knew it! Goddess protect me…and Grey…_

Vincent let out his own menace. Despite him being a couple inches shorter than Grey and the Brothers, he still gave out a menacing aura, all 5 foot 5 of him. Knowing one of the reasons he was constantly on top of Blink's hunting list was his "funny little hand signals," he didn't dare sign to Gray, but rather, with a few exchanged glances they were able to communicate. 17 years of friendship did that.

_We're pretty deep into the woods._

_ Yeah so? _

_ So how'd he find us?_

_ He's a stalker._

_ I thought so too. What do we do then?_

_ What else? Gray you know you can't fight anymore! _

Vincent knew that fighting meant a couple of broken bones. Blink wouldn't kill them. He was the cat of a cat and mouse chase and Vincent and Gray were his toys. Nobody liked their toys broken. Elli could always help patch up a few broken bones and bruises later on. Trent would most definitely lend a shelter to Vincent if he was too wounded to go anywhere, especially to his mother who was most definitely in her rage state as of now.

Who he was worried about was Gray. He was already in hot waters with Harris from last time. While Harris was a nice person, he had to do something and could not ignore the law breakers. Blink got away as he usually did and Harris let Gray off with a warning, "I'm sorry Gray." He had said, "I have to. Just don't cause any more trouble." Gray had gripped both of Vincent's wrists to prevent him from signing or writing and all he said to Harris, as his friend writhed, was "I got it. Sorry Harris." That was the worst day of his life, because on that day Vincent had started the fight with Blink, not the usual other way around. He had used his second strike of the year and one more meant that he would either be charged a hefty fine or "arrested" for a week or so. While there was no official jail in Mineral Town, there was house arrest or community service. There might be a small fine, but small was only so small. With the girls and Mark being the major source of customers for the blacksmith, who made jewelry and refined farming tools, Saibara didn't make too much.

Vincent heard the sound of knuckles cracking and glanced at Gray just in time to see his blur as he rushed forward. Then his wrist started to hurt…

-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-

Well there's the first chapter. My apologies if you found it bad. It's my first. This is part 1.5 out of 2 of Vincent's past and in the next chapter there will be some sort of life transition or something like that.

Sneak Peek?

"Why? Why must you?"

"There's no other way. Plus, Blink never targets you. Just me. It's better this way. A new life for me. A better chance for you."

"Please don't do this. Saibara will understand. I'm sure he can take you in as well."

"No…Gray…I promise…I'll be back."

"That's what Chelsea said!"

"I'll be back. I'll be back." I handed Gray my bracelet. "I'll be back to get that from you. It's a promise."


	2. Chapter 2

I'm back! I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. It wasn't too well done, a mistake here and a mistake there. I was a bit careless :( but I promise to do a better job proofreading! I also skipped my math homework to do that in the middle of the night so yeah :) (English over Math anytime!)

Thank you to my anonymous reviewer and no you did not chew my ears off. I appreciated your review! I will take your advice into consideration ^^

R&R!

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CHAPTER TWO:

I let my arms dangle from the railings of the boat and decided to ease my boredom with wave watching. While I could take out my notepad to doodle with, I had the strange paranoid thought that drawing on the deck of a boat would not end well. The worst that could happen right now would be that we hit a big wave or a flock of seagulls would attack me. Whilst I could swim just fine, especially with Chelsea being my teacher, my biggest concern was that my pad would drop into the water and would become unusable. What was the point of a notepad if it was wet? Without my notepad, in a brand new place, I was completely voiceless.

So instead I headed towards the lower deck. Of course I could draw here, but never in my life have I ever drawn indoors. I was an observer of nature! There is not a single glance of nature in the cabin areas, not that there was much of a cabin area. There were only two cabins as to speak. One for the passengers and one for the captain or his first mate when either were resting from stirring the wheel.

The cabin room for the passengers was small. It definitely was no five star cruise ship but the quicker I got to leave the town the better and Lady, the name of the boat, was the only one ready to set sail.

There were three hammocks, not even a bed in sight. It was a odd number that made no sense to me, but it was fine. The boat was fine and the trip was fine, especially for the price I paid for it. Other than the bedding choice of the captain there were crates in the room. Not just you're average couple. This was no bar or inn where when looking around you might see two or three crates stacking up labeled with beer or ale or whatever food the cook hasn't stored away yet. No. This was a whole cabin full of crates. Every spot that my eyes fell upon was a crate, and they weren't just crates of beer, ale or carrots. One said "canned peas to be shipped to Rose Bud," another, "FRAGILE! Silkie Eggs to be shipped to Forget-Me-Not," and others that contained bird feed, fertilizer, apples, and so forth.

Walking into the cabin I greeted the other two passengers, both which had more purpose being on this boat than I did, than I would have in 10 years. They were here for work purposes. I was here because I ran away from my hometown to goddess knows where. I sighed, sitting down on my hammock, prompting one of the two men to glance my way, "What's the matter little silent boy?" Little silent boy was the best the guy could come up with when I had told him of my muteness. The other guy merely scoffed and turned away staring at the wall of the cabin again. The wave motion of the boat made the hammock swing to and fro. Me and the other man, he calls himself Guy, were fine. We merely sat on our hammocks and our feet helped us anchor ourselves to the wooden floor and so we sway with the rhythm of the boat. I couldn't speak for the other guy, whom I had silently named Mr. Grumps. As he laid on the hammock he rocked so much I felt dizzy just looking at him. Instead, I looked at Guy again when he started to add on to his previous question, "Nothing's wrong? Why you here anyways?" he chuckled sticking a cigar stick in between his lips, lighting it and then blowing, "You runnin' from a girl?" I had to smile at that, I WAS running from a female, just not to type he was thinking of. I gave a dry laugh and nodded, "Yeah. I am." That was that, let his imagination run free. We were probably never going to see each other again anyways after this trip.

"Ah yes you are then!" he laughed at laid down on the hammock so that he was swinging violently like Mr. Grumps was. Finally taking out my notepad, as there was no water for it to drop into, I scribbled down, "Are you not dizzy?"

"Ay, I am but also I am not!" he spoke in riddles and I hated that. There was one person in Mineral Town that had always been speaking in riddles. He arrived in the small town a year before I was born and growing up every adult in the town would warn their kids not to go near him. My mother even warned us from time to time, whether she was having one of her good or bad days, which is a miracle considering that my mother, on her bad days was a wreck, forgetting things and just out of herself.

Nobody knows why we avoided him, but most of the adults and children avoided him anyways. They kept away from him like the plague. Most people did anyways. The troublesome children were always walking into the woods, not to mention that there was to be a new inn behind the lake. The term associated with most of their trips was the word "dare." Children went around daring other children to walk up to the hermit's door and ding-dong ditch. They treated him like he was a witch of black magic and that he would turn them into frogs if they ran away too slowly. It was a cruel game.

Of course I, we, had no right to denounce someone for their actions and judge them for being cruel or not. We couldn't, Gray and I, we did the same as any other eight and nine year old pair of trouble makers would do. Of course, unlike the other groups and groups of children that entered the woods to bother the hermit, Gray and I were true pairs, so much we were like two peas in a pod and we would never purposely frighten each other and try each other's wits by daring each other to enter and knock on the hermit's door. We wouldn't do so alone, we did it together. Gray and I.

We had snuck out after our curfew after 9pm and had met up at the big tree past Barley's barn and behind Gotz's house. With as much stealth as need to past the mountain patrol man we arrived at the Goddess Lake entrance and then soon after found ourselves at the Kappa pond easily spotting the hermit's house which was as accurate as the stories the boys at school had talked about. It was old and run down, a couple pieces of lumber falling off the roof and the windows were cracked just a bit but the wooden frame was rotted beyond repair so that the glass seemed to barely stay in place and appeared to float and hover in the square. The door was black wood, or maybe painted black. There were places in the door that one could easily get a splinter from and there was no doorknob. One would call the log cabin a medieval countryside house. I had to agree with that, only, it was the wrong time era. Mineral Town was a country side town and lacked certain resources such as computers and cellphones that the people in the big cities used, but we were no poor old civilization where our houses were built from dirt and poorly cut wood. We had cement and brick houses with wooden frames. Our fences were metallic and coated with fresh silver paint yearly. Our houses had heat in the winter, not just from fireplaces either but actual electric heat from thermostats. In the summer we had fans that blew air out and the lucky few, like the clinic uptown and Doug's Inn had air conditioning. With the resources we had, there was no reason for the hermit to live in a dirt and wood cabin house that seemed to bare no electrical light and for it to fall apart bit by bit like that. Looking at the building as it is, it was intimidating. Forget that one might get a splinter from the rotten door or the outer walls of the hut, the house gave a threatening aura that could make a mute boy like me scream in fear. Of course, I didn't. I was with Gray and he was as brave and confident as a grown man would be. I was jealous but at the same time I was grateful to have him by my side so that I didn't have to face the terror house alone.

And so we went…

"_You can't leave…Tell me you're kidding! I know you're kidding! You're always kidding! You would tell me you have a huge plan and then I would fall for it and then as soon as it was over you'd come back and laugh about it in my face!" he smiled at me, a smile that was half confident and half terrified that this time his friend was for real._

"_I'm going," I signed to him, "I can't stay here anymore. Look at that! We got away with a handful of bruises—" _

"_Bruises don't matter! They heal over time!" he argued. It hurt, seeing him hurt. It hurt telling him all of this. It hurt trying to convince him that this time I was not joking and that I was truly ready to follow through with my plan. _

_Shaking my head I grabbed his right arm and looked at him, at his sea blue eyes, "You could have gotten arrested. You got grounded again. We ran away but next time he sees me…sees us we're dead!" I let go of him and looked away, "I can feel it that he's growing bored of us…of me…and when people like him grow tired of their toys they kill them and toss their body aside and move on to the next prey. That new student in class. He's of foreign background."_

"_So then he'll leave us alone!"_

"_You know he won't. I would love to believe he's just all talk no action, but he has a 15 page criminal record sheet. Most are petty but some are accusations of murder and rape. They know its him, just don't have the exact details and evidence to put him behind bars."_

"_Vince…"_

"_I'll be back. I promise."_

"_That's what Chelsea said! Nine years and the townsmen has seen neither hair nor hide of her!" _

_I looked at my bracelet, the one that Gray had worked and forged on for eight months in secret from his grandpa, the one he had given me for my birthday. There was three charms on it: a silver star, a golden moon, and a bronze comet. Each one represented a promise or a wish. Gray had a replica of the bracelet and on it had already hung my bronze comet charm from when I promised him that I would return a favor from when he had saved my ass back in 8__th__ grade. He never followed through and used it and thus the charm never returned it but that was Gray. That was my Gray, kind and unwilling to use someone for his own gain. Removing the silver star from bracelet I took hold of Gray's right wrist, where his silver bracelet encircled. _

_His eyes widened and then closed and I would see that tears were forming and I bit my lip to prevent myself from crying myself. It hurt to see him cry like that, because I have never seen Gray cry before, ever. Attaching the silver star to his bracelet I looked at him for a moment before looking up at the stars and sighed. I nudged him to open his eyes to see my next words, "In the name of the silver star that I have bestowed upon you…I promise I will return. Promise with my heart and if in 5 years do I not return, may the Harvest God condemn me to an eternal punishment in hell for breaking my promise."_

_And with that he stopped crying and together he sat on the high tree branch watching the stars above me._

I didn't know I had fallen asleep, but the call came out loud and clear from the decks. Whilst I did not jump right out bed from fright, Guy did. In fact, the man hit his head on the low ceiling of the second deck of the boat before swinging, tangling himself into, and then falling out of the hammock and onto the wooden floor below him with a heavy thud.

"Guy Stonehills!" the man, whom I later found out was the second mate, called out. So Guy WAS his name. Guy sits up on his bottom wincing as he rubbed his bottom. Every inch of his skin was covered in hard muscle, and as he rubbed his sore bottom and then his head, from the ceiling bust, one could see the muscles in his arms ripple. Standing up he calls back out to the first mate, "COMING!" and looks around the cabin for a bit before coming across and picking up the vest he had carelessly tossed around when he had first stepped into the room.

Picking up two of the smaller crates at once he steps out only to return and move the rest of the bigger crates one by one. When he was finished with the luggage handling he gives me a wink and said, "Aye now kid! Good luck handling that girl of yours!" he pats my back and walks out. Suddenly, I had the feeling a weird feeling I was going to see him again, not in the near future, but I will see him again. Closing the door behind him I felt a chill as I sat back down on my hammock. Glancing over to the only other guy in the room, now, I felt his cold eyes glaring at me, even with his back facing towards me. Shivering, I laid back down on my hammock which started to swing with the waves again but this time not as violently as before.

"_Why are you laughing?" Gray sneered at me and Chelsea, his entire body soaking wet and still dripping water. Chelsea bellowed out laughing even louder and harder than before. Gray's glare however shut me up. He was awful in temper when he was mad and if Chelsea wasn't so much older, he would have punched her out, not just for laughing but for what she had just done to him._

"_I could have DIED Chelsea!"Gray yelled. He stormed into his room at the inn and said, "Just get out Chels. I need to change." She shrug and walked out with a mad grin on her face, "Least you learned how to—" __**SLAM! **__Gray growled and started to rummage through his drawer, which was only the size of a small nightstand. Pulling out a pair of underwear, a hoodie, and a pair of blue jeans he started to head to the small bathroom in his room and said, "Out in a bit," before closing the door on me. Blue jeans meant that he wasn't going to be going to work today. Blue jeans meant that we'd go exploring today. Blue jeans meant it was camping on the mountaintop again. I grinned at the thought of climbing mountains again. It was one of my favorite past times and the view from the peak if Mother's Hill was so beautiful that tears literally formed in your eyes. It was an easy climb and some of the townsmen would spend New Year's Eve up there, as a tradition. Gray took me up there for the Moon Viewing Festival since we couldn't find a decent girl to go with. _

_Laying down on his bed I watched the grandfather clock in Gray's room, intrigued by the design. Gray had rigged the pendulum of the clock to be shaped like a hammer rather than the traditional gold circle. For a moment I was jealous of how passionate Gray was of his job, even as a 14 years old. If one loved his job so much as to make a hammer shaped pendulum for a grandfather clock, he was passionate. I took his pillow and sighed into it, wondering when I would find my passion. _

_Falling asleep I remembered hearing the last of the grandfather clock's ticking and Gray's singing in the showers. His song was sorrowful but it was completely off tune._

"Vincent Goodwill and Vaughn!" I jolted out of bed and this time I really did hit my head on the ceiling. Unlike Guy, however, I did not fall out of the hammock. The captain called our names again to which I finally put a name on Mr. Grumps. Everything made sense now with all the crates of bird feed and fodder that said "Vaughn Ship." Here I thought that the crates were to be transported to some ship named Vaughn.

Vaughn was already up and about gathering his bags. Seeing me rubbing my sore head merely made him more pissed, though he didn't outwardly show it. Before, Vaughn had been under his thin covers and as the first to arrive, nobody really saw who he was or what he wore. Having being up and gathering his crates I had full view of the man, or should I say cowboy?

Vaughn donned a cowboy get up or perhaps he was one himself. After all I was heading to the country side. It wouldn't be surprise if, as soon as I walked out onto the docks, a cow comes over to nibble on my shirt. Vaughn had on a tannish vest and underneath was a black button up shirt. He wore a white scarf tied to his neck. His hair was stark white, pretty as snow, which tempted me to just run my hand through it. From what I heard from Chelsea, white hair was soft. His pants were black as well and he wore the stereotypical cowboy ropes and boots. He looked around until he saw and put on the last of his outfit, a black and brown cowboy hat. He glanced at me and I smiled. Chels talk me that. If you are ever caught looking at someone, "Say you were ever checking a cutie out", to not look away but just smile back. Surprisingly, he didn't glare or growl but rather surveyed the crates.

Considering that my name was called along with his, I supposed our destination was the same place and what was the point of starting fresh if I can't even make a friend on my own in the new town? So I grabbed my pad and started to scribble, "My name's Vincent," I wrote with a smiley face in the end. Again, to my surprise, he actually looked at the writing. No response. I sighed and wrote down, "Well. I guess I'll be seeing you around." I offered to shake hands to which he rejected, his cold glare returning as he picked up a small crate and walked out.

Shrugging I pulled out my own suitcase, which didn't have too much in it, pulled the handle out and wheeled the case out the door and up to the docks. Watching out I was greeted with silence and beach. The gulls called overhead and the waves lapped on the sand and boat but other than that it was perfectly quiet.

-hm- -hm- -hm- -hm- -hm- -hm- -hm- -hm-

Where there was chapter two. It's so short (sniff…) sorry but I wanted to make a buffer scene between the time with the bullies and the time he arrives in Sunshine Island. So I just dropped in the scene where he is on the boat with these two guys one named Guy and the other is Vaughn.

I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews!


	3. Chapter 3

I'm might write a short story just for hermit but Gray and Vincent did more than just ding dong ditch the poor guy (they were too slow and got caught). So I'll be writing a short story on him. And yes, my apologizes still for the small length of my previous chapter. This one is longer :) The longer passages of italics are flashbacks.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harvest Moon and its characters and settings. I do own Vincent Matthew Goodwill and I do own any other OC characters :3

R&R and share!

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_Dear Chelsea, Spring 10__th__, year 2014_

_ It feels awkward writing to you again. It's been like 9 years since you left for Sunshine Island. The last time you responded was three years ago, Chels… I hope you're doing fine. I am. I just graduated high school! Perfect 4.00 average and Valedictorian, top of the class. That's me! I feels so weird to be out of school after 14 years of being in school (counting kinder and pre-k of course) and out and about. Mom was having one of her low days again and yeah, I ran away, again. I'm safe though. I'm at Gray's house now. We're heading over to Saibara's house in an hour or so as he's starting work soon. It's legit work this time though. This isn't any of the training and practice sessions Saibara's always making him do. He's taking in his first job today! He's was so excited you could see comets in his eyes. _

_ Me? My birthday is coming up. It feels so strange to be 18. Spring 18__th__, 2014…I'll be 18. I'll be a grown man then! Face the world. The world, of course is not in Mineral Town. No, this place is way too small, even with the constant flow of bustling tourists, there's nothing to do here! Gray and I went camping yesterday, made marshmallows and s'mores. We fished and roasted ourselves some of that for lunch and then had some hotdogs for dinner. Well, hot dog sausages, you know we hate the bread. _

_ Other than that, though, life is pretty dull. I'm not heading to college, no passion to pursue. I much rather not spend my mother's money on a college or university to study something I'm not interested in. I'm interested in animals, but tell me to cut them apart and I'll cry. Did you know you need to cut open and dissect a poor ol' pig to study the interior? I rather stick to wandering and camping then. I don't care whether they were long dead or not. I'm not doing it. Gray and I visited old Hermit in the woods again. We stayed up late to catch a glimpse of any careless fairies or the Kappa himself. Saw neither, but then Gray and I camped out at the peak of Mother's Hill. We fell asleep to stars and woke up to a sunrise. _

_ It's still boring out here. Nothing to do but walk and camp out so I was wondering something. I was wondering if it was okay if I stayed with you for a bit. I don't know how long but I much rather spend some time on a new island than in Mineral Town. Is it okay? If I can't stay in your house, maybe there is a hotel nearby? An inn?_

_ I would love to meet your husband and your child! Wow…what would that make me to him/her? Uncle? I'm kinda young to be a uncle huh? Can you consider it? I do miss you…_

_Your Cousin,_

_Vincent Matthew Goodwill_

_Dear Vincent Darling, Spring 31__st__, year 2014_

_ I'm sorry I haven't replied. I have been so busy with my husband, my daughter, Ashley, and the farm. It has been nine years huh? The start of the summer, tomorrow, it will be ten years. It does feel weird, but have no fear, you are still my favorite cousin._

_ My husband has been treating me so kindly. He is a wonderful person, a kindhearted man who loves me and his daughter to the ends of the world. I will never regret such a wonderful man being in my life. My daughter's Ashley Marianne Regison. The island villagers are so kind to me and Ashley is always out hanging out with the villages two other kids. _

_ I have a lot of work to do. My farm has grown from barren land to building coops and barns to upgrading said coops and barns. The fields have been all clear of rocks and weeds and branches and I have planted many fruits and vegetables. I have a rice patty field, mushroom patch, greenhouse and all of those wonderful other houses. This Spring, I did think of you. I finally landed some strawberry seeds in the local store and while I planted them into the fields I thought of you as they are your favorite fruits! I remembered :)_

_ I am so very sorry for missing out so much of your life. How have you been? I hope you have been good. My apologizes for missing out on your graduation as well. That is such an accomplishment and to be top of the class? I could never even get close to that! I am so proud of you. You are a wonderful little boy and you will always be baby Vince to me. _

_ As for your request, I would love to have you over! It has been 9 years, and I think it's about time you met my husband and child. She's already 2 ½! Can you believe it? You really have to meet her. She is so sweet. She loves to crawl around and on her second birthday she threw her cake at our dog! Imagine his surprise! Will says chocolate was bad for dogs so I had to clean him right up before he licked the chocolate cream off his face…I mean I was eating her cake…but she smacked it out of my palm! _

_ She loves walking the cows graze. She's mesmerized by them! It's amazing how you can easily get your baby girl to sit so still when you bring her next the cows. If you visit, I have to show you all my cows and sheep and the chickens! We have a few eggs in the incubator, I can't wait until they hatch. I can't wait to show you them! One of them is a silkie egg! Ever heard of silkie chickens? Or sheep? Well, they are basically black counterparts of sheep and chickens. They amaze me! Mineral town don't have them! _

_ Oh, right. Off track. Of course you can stay. I'd much prefer you to stay with me than spend a whole summer doing nothing! There is a hotel on Sunshine Island, since it's so small, but you don't have to stay there! I actually have a spare guest room in my house. It's right across from ours and next to Ashley's room however. You'll have to put up with her bubbling in her sleep and early in the morning. It's a bit dusty but I'll clean it up real good in short time! A little bit of dust is nothing to me! So come by! Oh! I'll send you money! I'm sure Zack has the month's schedule for what boats are leaving and entering Mineral Town and Sunshine! Check with him! I need to give you my address right? It is 1 Ranch Island Road. Ask around Sunshine for me and their direct you to me! _

_ I'm sorry for neglecting your mail for so long! I've been awfully busy! I'm sure your mother, or Saibara, or Anna can tell you about how hard it can be the first time you have a baby. Oh and of course you know how busy Mark is himself right? Now add a green house, mushroom patch, and rice patty to all that! And fruit orchards! Phew! Lots of work so I'm sorry. I'm AM excited for you coming though! I can't wait!_

_Love You FAVVV COUSIN,_

_Chelsea Regison_

_P.S. I've sent 5000 Gold to you in check! I'm hoping you come by! _

_P.P.S. (From William) It will be a great pleasure to meet you! I have always wanted to meet Chelsea's wonderful family._

_Hey Chels, __Summer 18__th__, year 2014_

_I'm making this quick and simple cause I forgot to reply. I'm packing up my backpack today and I might leave next weekend. I hope this letter reaches you soon or you're in for a surprise visit without a reply from me! I'm packing up my stationary kit so I can't write after this. I'm excited. I've written the address down. I'll see you then!_

_Love, _

_Vincent Matthew Goodwill_

Chapter 3

I never really sent that last letter. I just ended up scratching it all up and crumpling it. I had considered the garbage can afterwards, but I didn't want to leave behind any clues of where I was heading for my mother to find, so I burned it. At the very least, I would have time alone before she hunted me down. From the edge of the beach, I watched the waves lapped on the sand, over and over again. It was nothing like the Mineral Town beach, which was originally already as beautiful as a town could hope for. When Mineral Town became a tourist attraction, the beach grew even more. This beach was gorgeous too, of course. It was calming in its own, country like way. It wasn't sprinkled with beach towels and umbrellas and unlike Mineral Town, Sunshine Island's beach wasn't sprinkled with stores and booths.

I wasn't ready to head to Chelsea's yet, so I sat down on the sand and just stared at the sea. I wasn't staring at the sea the whole time though. From where I sat, I had a full view of the beach; sand, sky, ocean, the boat that brought me here.

"_Hey!" I wrote on my pad, panting like a mad dog. "I heard you were going to Sunshine Island?" The man I had addressed with my writing looked me up and down and said, "Yeah. What's it to ya?" _

"_Can I catch a ride? You're the last one for the day, I need to go NOW. I have the money…"_

"_Emergency?"_

"_In a way, yes." _

_The man thought about it, stroking his beard a bit now and again. He was the striking image of what a captain would look like in the movies. He had a gray beard, a couple of scars here and there, a sailor's hat, he was indeed a bit short and chubby, and he was smoking a pipe, taking long drags before puffing out. _

"_My boat ain't no cruise ship, boy." He finally said. "It's a cargo ship. We got one cabin with hammocks an' crates. We got two other men in there. It's cheap for ya. The less cargo, the cheaper. Ya ain't got cargo so I guess I can't charge ya fer that now. Ah…" He went back to playing with his beard, "4000 ah no, 3200…yes...It'll be 3200 gold."_

"_I'll take it." I clamped down on my notepad with my teeth while I unzipped the front pocket of my yellow backpack and taking out the money. I slapped down the money in the guy's hand before zipping back up the bag and writing, "Thanks a lot. I'm in a hurry to leave. Nice to meet I'm Vincent Matthew Goodwill."_

"_In a hurry eh? I just hope you ain't a criminal now. I wouldn't want ta have ta turn my boat round back and delay cargo am I? Bringing ya back to ol' Harris?" Harris wasn't old, but a couple of people in town had once called him that and it stuck. It was funny how little I could tolerate that name, nowadays._

"_Other way around, Captain. I'm the one in danger if you don't get me off this island." I wrote. He rubbed his beard, to which I was beginning to grow annoyed of. Just how many times, must a beard be rubbed? I didn't even want to know, but judging from the grease of his beard, he probably ran his hands through it a hundred times an hour. _

_He waved me on the boat and said, "Eh. Fine. You pay, I sail. No more questions. Now on before the chickens in the coop get any louder._

"What're you? Lost?" I blinked, not realizing that I had been lost in thoughts. I looked up to see the familiar face of Mr. Grumps. He had a smaller crate hauled on his shoulders and on top of the crate laid a medium bag of mulch. Grinning at him I wrote, "Lost in thoughts, if that counts." I got up and continued to write, "You know a woman named Chelsea Goodwill Regison? I need to get to her house and she said to just ask whoever I come across."

"Chelsea? Yeah. The rancher gal lives up town. Follow…" he paused causing me to cock my head, something that Gray suggested as"the international translation for 'what the shit are you talking about?'" I smacked him for his profanity and told him to suggest something else. He ended up shorting it to, "'confusion' and/or 'What's wrong?'"

"I'll take you there." That was unexpected. In fact there was probably nothing in the world that could've prepared me for someone as grumpy and angry as him to offer someone like me help. He was like the living definition of what The Hermit always told me, "In ever body is a good soul." I nodded at him and wrote, "Really? That's awfully kind of you, Sir," not knowing whether or not he'd be pleased with me calling him Vaughn as he did not exactly tell me his name.

He snorted, "Don't call me that. Vaughn. I'm headed in that direction." I looked over to the boat and saw the Captain coming out to smoking again while he quickly scanned the boat over with his eyes. It seemed more of an act out of boredom rather than a technical check. Nodding I smiled, "Alright then. Thanks, Vaughn!" I grabbed my backpack, to which I had to slap off some of the sand off the bottom, and carried it on my right shoulder.

_See that there? That's ol' Kappa's lake. "Kappa is old?" I wrote on my pad. He grunted, "A legend like him is always old." He motioned us to go into the house, to which Gray and I exchanged wary glances, "Er…sir…we're sorry for pranking you…"Gray started, "but we got places to go…" _

_The old man looked back at the two of us, his eyes glaring and hitting us like an arrow laced with snake's venom. We were rooted to the ground instantly and Gray immediately shut his mouth, unwilling to speak more. "You boys came and knocked on my door just to ditch me? An old man like me, an' you still did it. You think it's funny? For a bone aching old man like me to answer a door? You wasted my time and I had a place I had to be too, __**lad.**__ I was resting on the couch when you dingity dongity rang ma BELL! I was supposed to be somewhere too. __**MY COUCH!**__" His scream hit me in the chest like god's hammer and I began to doubt the Hermit's age. I twiddled my thumbs and stepped into the house, Gray biting his lips at my daring action. "You realllllyyyy going? We could out run him ya know?" he signed to me. "He's right though Gray. We disturbed him…maybe he's really actually lonely…"_

"_Fine…we're flying if he pulls out some weird machete or has a giant witch's pot in his kitchen. Got it?"_

"_Got it!" I grinned and he hung his head, defeated. He hesitated for a second before sighing quite loudly and followed me into the house. _

"Mirabelle?" Vaughn said, shouldering the wooden door open. He motions me into the barn and walks over to the far end placing the small crate down gently. Stepping back he surveyed the wooden boxes. Some were as small as my backpack and others were larger than some of the student desks at school. Vaughn didn't appear to be some macho man. Sure he had enough muscles to easily beat me in arm wrestling but that didn't explain some of the other crates that seemed to defy laws of physical human strength. Not to mention, if I remember correctly, it was only the two of us on the boat left after Guy departed. I doubt the first mate helps unload heavy cargo.

"15. All here." Vaughn said, snapping me out of my daydreaming, something I've been doing more and more ever since I left Mineral Town. The women Vaughn was addressing looked over the crates, counting them over themselves and then checking the inside of the crates for any broken products and goods.

There were two of them. One was a short and plump woman, probably in her late thirties and early forties with blonde hair and wore a red shirt under a blue sleeveless dress. The other was a taller woman who, despite her gorgeous looks, skinny features, and height, was most likely the older woman's daughter. There was no mistaking their nearly identical faces.

The older and rounder woman looked away from the boxes and picked up a clipboard attached to a string hanging on the wooden wall. She wrote and ticked away boxes before turning to Vaughn with a smile, "All here! All in good condition, great job! Thank you so much!" She leaned in for a hugged, to which I Vaughn showed visible discomfort and embarrassment to. "You're always such a careful man of goods. Remember Lucy? The jersey cow's just fine now! Came in perfect condition and she's pregnant!"

Vaughn seemed to relax rather than struggle in the woman's bear hug and smiled, "Really?"

"Really! I'm sure you'll love to see her!"

Vaughn looked my way and said, "Not now. I'll be back quick though." He picked up the bag of mulch that had been previously laying on top of the crate he'd been carrying and hauled it over his shoulder and then jabbed a thumb my direction, "I'm also taking him to Chelsea."

I straightened myself up when the women looked towards me and I waved to them, hoping they would get the impression that I was friendly. They seemed friendly enough to Vaughn, though. However, people can be pretty fake, if you ask me. High school taught me that just because someone was acting sweet to one person doesn't mean they would turn around to be sweet to you.

I had nothing to worry about though, because the smaller and more plump of the two women smiled at me. It was the first time a woman smiled to me in such a motherly way. Not even Elli gave away such a warm smile. She was the only other woman I knew outside of my mother and Chelsea, so I suppose I haven't really met enough women in my life. Still, the way she smiled at me, I could tell she would easily outmatch any other women. Looking at me, still smiling, she said, "Well. Nice to meet you dear! Do you have a name to that cute little face of yours?"

I nodded and wrote on my pad, well aware of the two women staring at me curiously, "My name's Vincent Matthew Goodwill."

The woman immediately grinned, "Goodwill? Are you a relative to Chelsea? Is that why you came to visit?" I nodded in response to that question, a bit surprised she didn't ask about why I was writing rather than speaking.

"You're that mute boy right?"_Oh! So she knows me!_ She came towards me and in an all too quick movement, gave me the bear hug she'd given Vaughn earlier before, "Chelsea told me about you! She's a rancher, but I'm sure you know that. I'm Mirabelle and that nice young lady over there…" she said with a quick wink before turning and pointing at the taller and younger woman, "…is my daughter, Julia! We run the barn house around this island, selling sheep, cows, chicken as well as supplies that those animals might need. You can be certain that Chelsea stops here often. Julia is Chelsea's best friend. If she's not here to purchase something, she's here chatting!" She bellowed out laughing while patting my shoulder, "I'm a talker. I'm sorry!" She laughed again, making me wonder if she was truly sorry. She patted me saying, "I'm sure you need to go, eh? Come again soon! Chelsea talks about you so much, oh in a good way of course, it's such a great pleasure knowing and meeting you! Do stop by more!" With that she urged me out the door while Vaughn followed.

I waited until he was in front of me and led the way before I started to walk again. He didn't look back but I saw that he occasionally tilted his head towards me in the slightest angle to make sure that his footsteps weren't alone.

The road to the house wasn't long at all. In fact, leaving the barn the trail to the edge of what clearly was a ranch, was only about a 5-10 minute walk, if you walked as slow as we did of course. The road was neatly done and the design was lovely. It was made of stone of different shape and sizes, but usually in a rectangular shape. Unlike Mineral Town's brick road, which was perfectly edged and shaped and of different colors, the road here was of the same greyish yellow color.

At the entrance of the ranch I had a spectacular view of the fields. It was slightly smaller than Mark's farm back in Mineral Town, but a farm was still a farm. The field was still pretty big. There were colors everywhere. The last of turnips that haven't been harvested yet, potatoes peeking out, lines and lines of strawberries, cucumbers, and flowers. I hardly ever saw flower's in Mark's farm, but with Chelsea, there were a lot. Yellow and white flowers dotted the field in places where there were no crops. There was not a single stone, weed, or branch to be seen on the field. It was perfectly clean. From where I stood, you could see the barn and the coop as well as another building. There was a patch of mushrooms next to the, what was most likely the house, and there was a mill. It was a clean and beautiful place.

Walking towards the house, the building became brighter in color, a red roof distinguishing it from the other buildings, with a chimney. It was an awfully big house, builder than Mark's. It was one story tall but there were several rooms that had been added to the house over time as certain sections looked newer than the others. The walls were white with brown bricks as an outline. There was one door and it didn't look like the type of house to have a back door either. There were several windows. The traditional two up front and with every angle of the house, there was at least one window.

Vaughn knocked on the door and called out for Chelsea, "Chelsea. I have your mulch." There was a pause, a moment of silence between the knock and call and the opening of the door. The person who opened the door, though, was not Chelsea, but a blonde haired young man who wore a white suit. Trailing behind and then stopping to hug his leg, was a little girl with brown hair and a pacifier in her mouth. Seeing me, she hid behind the man, whom I supposed were Will and Ashley, Chelsea's husband and daughter.

"Oh! Hello Vaughn. Good day to you."

"Fine. Is Chelsea not home? I have her mulch." He replied, in a flat and unenthused tone. He was clearly not happy that Chelsea was not the one to open the door. He signed, "Can I leave this with you and trust you that it is not spilt or destroyed and what not?"

"Of course, Vaughn. And…" he looked at me, "Who may you be?"

"Relative of Chelsea's. Said he's looking for her. The boy? The mute one? Vincent or something." That surprised me. There were a lot of surprises in life and a lot of it was fitting into one day. Coming from Vaughn though, it felt weird that he was talking for me. He turned to leave, "The mulch was a C.O.D. but I'll let the payment slide until the next time I see her. Tell her I said hello."

He gave me a half a glance and left me alone with Will and Ashley. As soon as Vaughn left the visible perimeters of our view, Will and I stood awkwardly alone in silence. It was a painful 10 seconds before Will spoke up with a smile, "You are Vincent? I didn't expect you! You should've wrote." He said. He was a kind looking person, a gentleman, and I could tell why Chelsea fell for him. He was a handsome man, something anyone could say whether they were a woman or a man. He had almost of a sweeping blonde hair, not dirty blonde but actual golden blonde hair, the kind you see in the movies. He had sky blue eyes and his coat and pants, despite the color, was perfectly clean and unwrinkled. He was a rich man, but he was definitely no snob.

Pulling out my pad I wrote, "Yeah. I was planning to write my letter but I wanted to leave Mineral Town as soon as possible. It used to be a great place for summer vacations and what not but…it's not exactly as safe as it used to be. I wanted to get off the island before something bad happened. Precaution, you know. Plus, I finished my last year of school and didn't wish to burden my mother anymore." _That was a lie. I don't like the taste of lying, especially to Chelsea's owe husband, but it's not like Its all false information. I DO what to get off the island. I WAS in trouble. _

"Oh well it's a pleasure to me—" he started to say before the girl leeching on his left leg spoke up, "Mama!" I spun around and say her, Chelsea. The girl that was my favorite cousin. The person who stuck by my side through thick and thin. The person who beat up my bullies and praised me for every new word I learn in sign language. The person who showered me and Gray with lollipops and chocolate whenever she came to visit. The person who left at 18, as a teenager, and yet here in front of me was her. Different. More mature. A woman with her own family. Suddenly, I felt sick with ill thoughts. _Who am I to interrupt them of a perfectly normal life? What was I thinking?! _I mentally bashed my head and gave her a smile.

"Chelsea!" I signed, retreating my notepad under my armpits. Seeing me she gasped, a look of confusion and surprise on her face. There was not a single trace of anger or hate. No traces of being bitter that I showed up without notice. She runs to hug me, "Vincent! You've grown! Oh goddess! Look at you! The last time I saw you was when you were a wee little boy and now you're a grown man!" She hugged me. The way she talked was different too. More mature. It made my heart ache to see that after 9 years, Chelsea was no longer the girl I knew. She was almost like a stranger to me.

"_Gray's birthday is next week, Chels. What do I give him?"_

"_An ore. No wait. Maybe we should give him a bow on a branch." Gray loved branches almost as much as he loved his baked corn. Still, I didn't think a branch was much of a birthday gift. I didn't want to hand him any baked corn either. I was a believer of gifts that last longer than a few bits and a toss into the garbage can. _

"_No branches, Chels. That just sounds lame." I signed. _

"_A necklace of crystal clear water from the springs?"_

"_He's hydrophobic no thanks to you."_

"_Fine. Back to square one. An ore?"_

"_Where do we find ores?! I'm no miner!" _

"_Just go and…hammer…something." She shrugged and said, "Bracelet? Ring? I know some ring designs that are fitting for a boy."_

"_If Gray sees Saibara making a ring, he'd question him, no?"_

"_Oh right. I don't know Vince. How about…"_

"…"

"_Camping?" She randomly suggested, losing her interest in my question. _

"_A…camping trip?" I thought about that. It wasn't permanent, but I suppose one could permanently remember memories of the trip. "I like that idea. Only…I wish we had a camera."_

"_A camera? I have one. It's a bit old and unused, but we can always check. Better something than nothing."_

"_A camping trip it is." I grinned at her, "I cordially invite you to Gray's camping birthday party in which you have so graciously suggested." I said as regally as I could. It had to be a perfect birthday. Perfect. After all, it was Gray's 10__th__ birthday._

She invited me into the house and had me sit on her couch. It was a dark shade of green and of the three cushions, the middle one was of a lighter color. It was just the two of us. Will had left to the kitchen to boil down some water for tea, as if it wasn't hot enough in the first place. Ashley followed Will into the kitchen, but then she walked out and into another room with a doll in her hands.

"How've you been?" Chelsea asked. Her tone was so sweet and laced with honey that it just felt plain weird to be talking to her. It didn't feel like Chelsea, the Chelsea that I knew.

"Great." I signed. It struck me that the last time she talked to me was about 9 years ago. There was a nine year gap that she most likely didn't even need sign language. I wondered if she even understood me at this point. The thought made me a bit upset and so I asked her. It had always been a thing with us. We were upset about something and we'd always tell each other the truth. _Never hide anything from your closest friends_, she had once told me, _otherwise it will be your friends hiding from you. _It was almost poetic, the way she put it.

"Chelsea. You do understand me right?" I wrote out onto my pad. She watched as I wrote and her smile became a frown and her shoulders dropped, "I do. I've lost a lot of vocabulary over the years. I understood that you just told me that you were great. I remembered my name you gave me in sign language. I don't remember to much though." She turned to face the room that Ashely had baby waddled into and said, "You aren't mad are you?"

I turned and gasped, "How could I get mad for something so trivial as that?! Chelsea…I'm just a bit lonely to lose someone who could sign before and now she's reduced to first grade vocabulary. That's all. It's not like my voice is all gone, least I lose my notepad." I didn't like that thought one bit. To have most people not understand my signs and to lose my notepad. I could die right there if I lost it. I thought of Gray and how I promised him that I would most definitely return. Now I had a reason to return. If I pull a Chelsea Goodwill disappearance on him and return, he would leave me alone in the world of sign as well. I felt my stomach twist and turn worse than the hammocks on the ship thinking about how returning to Mineral Town, Gray would have a wife and kid and would have nearly forgotten me and my signs. I felt like a fool for leaving, for the second time in one day.

Will returned with the tea and for the first time, since I met him, I was glad to have him around. It was tea, biscuits and cookies that he laid in front of me. There was a small china cup of honey and another of milk. The tea was a dark shade of yellow and there was a bag of the tea inside, the label of it hanging off reading, "Traditional Green Tea. Best Brand on Sunshine Island." I nodded with a smile, my signal for thanks.

Taking a small sip, I smiled and mouthed, "Tastes good." Will smiled at me in the same way the gents in the movies would smile at the ladies across the room in a crowded café. "I'm not interrupting you guys am I? I could leave if you want me t—"

"No no. You can stay dear. Vincent this is my husband, Will. That's only the short hand of his real name. It's long."

"Yes. As I said at the entrance before Chelsea arrived. It's a pleasure meeting you. My name is William Terry Louis Andrew Carrick Jonathan Dredge Hams Reading Roger Southwark Alwick Plymouth Junior Regison III."

I recoiled at the name which took longer than ten seconds to say. "Wow!" I wrote on my pad, "That IS a long name! I would love to see your birth certificate!" He grinned to Chelsea's delight.

"I'm glad you guys are getting along so well! She took a sip of her tea and took a look at the clock. I have to go out to the fields again. Did Vaughn come with the mulch?"

Will shot out of his seat and said, "I forgot about that! Here I promised to hand it directly to you too, dear. He came around earlier. In fact it was just a short moment before you arrived. I'll go get it. He said. With that he walked out of the living room. It was me and Chelsea again.

"Vaughn was on my boat here." I said, trying to make small talk. Plus, I've seen my mother ask about her friends' travel experiences too as soon as they have taken seat on our sofas and couches. It wasn't out of the ordinary to talk about it. "There was another guy too, his name was…Guy. The guy's name was Guy." I grinned at that thought. It felt weird now to say his name, as if the first time his name didn't leave a weird taste in my mouth already.

"You did?" She chuckled, "How was he? Silent right?"

I grinned happy at Chelsea's new tone, "So much I dubbed him Mr. Grumps, but don't tell him I said that. I was sitting mesmerized by the beach that he came up to me asking if I was lost!"

"Really? That's unlike him. No wait. I suppose it is within his character. He's silent but he's still a good man. What did you say?"

"I asked him about where you lived and if he could point out the direction I could take. He ended up taking me to Mirabelle's to drop off his last package and then personally delivered me here along with the mulch."

"That's so nice! See? He's a nice man right? A good guy, just not much of a talker. You'll get used to him. You met Mirabelle too? And Julie?"

"Jullia? I didn't talk to her that much, her mother was chatting to me the whole time about how you're always talking about me." I grinned, "Talking about me eh? I feel special."

"You should! You're my favorite cousin!"

Favorite cousin. Yet I felt awkward sitting there, on her couch. It just wasn't the same. I'm sure even Chelsea could feel it too. The awkwardness and the tension in the air. It's just been way too long since the last time I've properly spoken to her face to face. It was like those television shows where childhood friends grow up together, separate and then see each other again. They each lived their own lives. There are a lot of things to talk about and yet, there is nothing to talk about.

I thought of Gray. I saw his blonde hair and the stupid hat he always wore. I thought of his voice and the clinking of our bracelets whenever we made a promise. I thought of Gray and suddenly, everything just felt wrong.

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Sorry it's a little late. I had finals. It's a long week of finals and I don't like it T_T It's almost summer vacation though! I can't wait. It's gonna be amazing.

I tried to proofread though and I don't know how I did. I can't proofread for the sake of my life. The next chapter I'm thinking of Chelsea introducing Vincent to everyone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four! Oh I love this part. I keep a journal of the drafts (still working on it though) and this was one of my favorite parts so far. With summer vacation here, I can write and have time to proofread (or at least try harder at it.) **

**I think this has gone a bit AU. Gray doesn't live in the cities prior to meeting Vincent, as it is his story rather than Claire's. He grew up with his grandpapa (Saibara) rather than grow up in the cities and moving to Mineral Town to apprentice. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**This was longer in time than the others because my brother brought over his PS2 and I spent the whole week I was going to put into this chapter on playing Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life Special Edition Sowry :p**

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**Chapter Four: Vincent's Tour Around Town**

True to her words, the guestroom was spotless. It was a one windowed bedroom with the window facing the mushroom patch garden. Covering it was a green and blue curtain that was made of silk fabric and was without a single wrinkle. There was a single bed, but it was enough to fit two, a full sized bed with two pillows in which all of it was covered in the same blue and green silk fabric. It was neatly made and the pillows were propped against the walls, fluffed and ready for someone to just flop down and sleep.

Next to the bed was a small nightstand, brown wood. It looked old but seemed to have the same polished gloss that matched its newer counterparts. It was a three legged table with a small drawer in which the handle was a decorative lion head made of metal, painted black. On top was a small table lamp of the queerest fashion. It twisted and turned so that it seemed like an infinity ring. The whole lamp was of clear glass but the portion towards the top, where the three bulbs were, was made of opaque glass.

There was a small closet in place of the dresser. It wasn't a bad closet either, I had to admit. It was a pretty decent sized closet, considering the fact that it was a guest room closet. Even my mother's room, the master bedroom of the entire house, had a smaller closet area. On one of the walls, in the closet, were empty steel bars that would hold clothes. A basket of hangers was placed neatly below next to the shoe rack. The wall next to that was a mirror area and a dresser that contained drawers of socks, brushes and mirrors, and makeup. The third wall was the same as the first wall with steel bars. The difference was the lack of shoe rack and that it was not empty. Freshly pressed shirts, jackets, and pants hung from the bars.

The closet was admirable, something I ended up whistling over. Some of the clothes were obvious farming outfits. There was three sets of overalls, red, blue and green. There were sets of white t-shirts and there was a rubber rain boot under those. It was the other clothes that made my eyes bulge. There were leather jackets, silk shirts, pants decorated with jewels, real gems, and others lined with silver or gold threads. One of the coats matched Will's white jacket. Beneath those were dress shoes. The whole closet screamed of riches and gold, even if it was just the one wall.

To the right of the closet, where the window was, was a full case of books. The bookshelf was lined with different genre of stories but the bottom rung were all non-fiction. There was a full set of encyclopedias as well as titles that read, "The History of Sunshine Island", "What was Once Island of Happiness", "The Tales of the Goddess and other local Myths", and "Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter: Different Sunlight? Know your farm's sun and water points!" Laying on top of the bookshelf was a leather bound book with a leather strip that wrapped the book up. It was clearly a journal and out of curiosity, I abandoned the rest of the books and unstrapped the journal. It was blank, something I probably should have guessed considering how new the book was.

"How do you like your room?"

I spun around seeing Chelsea by the door, her expression like that of a five star chef. She was beaming, her grin from one ear to the other. Below, Ashley was clinging to her like a leech but she wasn't hiding anymore. In fact, she was staring straight at me.

Nodding I signed, "Love. Great. Fancy." Three words to describe the room. "The closet's real nice! Whose clothes are those? Will's?"

"Yep! He wore them for a couple of days. They were samples from a few of his associates who ran clothing lines. He didn't quite like them and wasn't really his style. Their yours now!"

"Mine?!" I signed. I was expecting to borrow them rather than keep them, "You sure?"

Another nod, "Will rather you keep them. He's gone through my photo albums and deduced that they would probably suit you much better than him."

Ashley tugged at her mother's pants, "Tell him! Tell him!"

Chelsea seemed to register her daughter there for the first time, something that didn't seem to click right with me. She brightened up at the words, however, and said, "Oh right! It was Ashley's idea with the book case and the journal was her idea too! She loved doodling in notebooks and said that her beloved uncle should take up the skill too!" She turns to Ashley and said, "Your uncle's a very good artist you know. You should ask him for a couple of lessons!" Turning back to me she said, "The journal's for you to keep. Leather bound, real leather might I add. It's actually from one of my cows that died last Spring…poor old thing. I know you'll treasure it."

Real leather…from a dead cow. I don't know if that was a good or bad thing. Suddenly, the innocent journal in my hand didn't feel so right.

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Chelsea has suggested for her younger cousin to rest a bit longer or take a nap for the afternoon, but he refused. "Are you sure?" She asked, lingering just outside of Vincent's doorway as he unpacked, "cause you haven't exactly taken a break yet since coming here. I'm sure the boat ride was gruesome."

Switching between writing in his notepad and hanging up his clothing, Vincent replied, "Not tired yet. I mean, since when have you known me to sleep or nap during the day anyways? I could be drop dead tired and still I wouldn't sleep a wink just because I know the wonderful Mr. Sun is still frolicking in the high skies." He pulled out a small blue and white fluffy hoodie and hung it up in the closet before turning to the last two clothes on his bed, a silver and grey short sleeved shirt with a hammer logo on it, a present from the blacksmiths, and a pair of white knee length jean shorts, his outfit of the day.

Closing the closet door and sitting down on the bed he grins at Chelsea, "18 is a guy's prime time. Grown up and full of energy. A little boat ride isn't gonna kill me. At least, I hope not." He dug around his bag for a rubber band and bunched his hair into a small ponytail, or as Grey calls it, "Rabbit Stub Tail", and tugged off the shirt he was currently wearing while exchanging it for the Grey T-shirt. Unbuttoning his pants he looked at Chelsea, "Still here? Would you care to see me naked then?" he grinned.

She rolled her eyes and smiled, "I'll meet you in the living room."

Kirk was toying with the rope that tied the boat to the docks when he looked up two see two people, one he knew and the other he didn't. Standing up with practiced ease he walked to the port of the small boat and stepped onto the docks, "Chelsea! Long time no see! You know, I'm sure the animals miss you." He was referring to the animals on animal island, specifically the ducks that constantly brought back fish. "Fish for a fish," Chelsea had told him once.

"I know Kirk. It's been a good three seasons since the last time I've ridden on your boat! The baby keeps me busy and keeps Will even busier, since he's the one always at home and stuff." She hands him a bag, "A gift of return," she chuckled, "I'm back now." Kirk waves the bag off, but to no avail, finally just taking it. "Ah. I was kidding. You didn't have to dear!" He gives Chelsea a hug and said, "So who is this? Familiar face, a family?"

Kirk looked Vincent over and said, "Has your eyes." The boy in front of him had brown hair whose hair seemed to have been dipped into a bucket of white paint and later scrubbed out. It was all brown save for the tips which had scattered white or silver hair.

"Oh yes! Vincent, this is Kirk. I've told you about Sunshine Island's many separate islands, right? Well, Kirk is the guy to go to when you need to go to the other islands. Kirk, this is my cousin, the son of my father's brother."

"Ai. The mute one? The favorite one?" Kirk gave Vincent a wink, "Your cousin here talks about you all the time! In fact, I could write a book about you just from just a month's worth of chatting with the lady." He stepped back into the boat placing the bag of groceries under one of the benches and looked out at sea, "Fine day for sailing, you coming along or just showing your cousin around town?"

"The latter," she said smiling, "I will ride with you later though. Can't forget about the ducklings and the other animals. Plus I still have to show him the Goddess Pond –we have one here too, Vince– and the church, oh of course I have to introduce him to Wada and Shea too." She gave a wave before tugging Vincent by the arm towards a purple roofed building. Knocking on the door before entering Chelsea said, "Pierre! How are you?"

A man mumbling over a boiling pot and an oven looked up, "Oh hey, Chelsea! How're you? Natalie isn't here right now, unless you're looking for me. If that's the case," he pulled open the oven door to reveal a distinguishing scent that Vincent couldn't quite put a name to, "you have got to try my new pie! It's pineapple crème pie! It has a strawberry twist to it and I have to admit that it tastes pretty good. It's better than it sounds."

"No, silly," Chelsea chuckled, "My cousin's here to visit and stay for a bit and I've been introducing him around town to fellow villagers."

The guy named Pierre finally turned away from the food and said, "The…" he lingered a bit mentally racking his brain for memory, "The mute one right? The Vincent boy, right? It's nice to meet you! Oh! I have something just for you."

The purple top hatted chef went around the kitchen rummaging through drawers and cabinets until he pulled out a small blue box with a clear top. Handing it to Vincent he said, "For you. If you're gonna stay in a new town, you would need to eat right? A welcome gift!"

The box was blue plastic and on top read the worlds, "Ready. Set. Eat!" Inside was a set of blue eating utensils with the same three words on the handles. There was a spoon, a fork, and a knife seated onto of cotton stuffing. A thin piece of paper sat on top that said, "Thank You for your purchase of the Stainless Steel Utensil set. We hope you enjoy your product. If you have any complaints or questions, please contact us at: StainlessStars "

"Thank You!" I wrote on my notepad.

"You're welcome. Come by later and try my pies too! I'm about to head out to gather some grapes anyways."

"Elliot!" Natalie screamed at the top of her lungs, "Can't you be more careful, goofball?! You almost dropped the crate and the supplies would be damaged! Nobody wants damaged goods you know!" She growled and crossed her arms, "How could you even drop that? It's only about the size of three chickens! I mean, look at Vaughn! I've seen him carry at least 10 chickens in a cage before and here you can't even carry three?" That was a lie, she's seen him carry feed and fodder, a cage of maybe five chickens, at the most, and direct a herd of walking cows and sheep, but she hasn't really seen him walking around with a crate or cage of ten chickens, not that was possible. A chicken was big, a crate of ten was probably huge and she doubt that cages had wheels. Still, she glared at her older brother to back up her claim.

"W..well…it was heavy okay? I mean, why don't you lift it!" he said, getting up from the ground and patting himself, trying to shake the dust and dirt off himself. With a sigh he began to examine the crate that he had dropped earlier. Indeed there was a crack along the box and one of the corners of the crate was busted. _As busted as I am going to be as soon as Gramps returns,_ he thought to himself. Inside, the damage was less severe, but there were cracked bottles of milk and a couple of egg cartons were smashed, and most likely the eggs inside were broken as well. The eggs and bottles of milk were products of hard work from Maribelle and Chelsea, something that his grandfather was very proud of, "The hardest workers earn their respect! You should be like them more." He was screwed, most definitely screwed. _I wonder how much a ship fare off the island would be?_

"Hello!" Elliot let out a screech and jumped, falling onto the crate, damaging more of it, _Greeeaattt…_ Looking up, his face went sour. _My day can't get worse. _It was Chelsea and another boy he had not seen before. Her being here after he destroyed her hard work, it couldn't possibly get worse. With his face the color of the strawberries he had packaged yesterday, Elliot looked up and stammered, "H..hello…Che…l…Chelsea. How're you..?"

"Great! Just showing my cousin along the islands. I told you about him. You know, the one who was thinking about coming? It's a bit of the surprise visit, but he's here! Say…what's all that muck and cracks behind you?" She said peering behind him and gasping, "Those wouldn't be the eggs came from my shipping bin at the farm would it?"

"Oh yeah it is!" A humph came from behind her. Natalie had a look of pure pleasure on her face, so pleased, she seemed almost evil. "That goof was carrying the crate and he tripped, over nothing! The eggs are damaged, the cartons are smashed, milk bottles are broken, and the yogurt got jolted enough for the tin top to peel and the yogurt to spill out."

Chelsea's face fell, "Wasn't there any cotton to…you know protect the goods?"

"There was…but…the crate overturned…" he mumbled looked at his foot, "I..I'm really so—"

"Oh…well…what's done is done eh? I mean—" _I got paid already. It falls on their funds…, "_I think Taro is going to be more angry than I am." She said.

Vincent peered over and tapped Chelsea on the shoulders and signed, "Do you need help?"

Natalie and Elliot seemed to finally realize the boy was there and Elliot jumped again, "Oh..hi..didn't see you." Natalie looked at her brother than at Chelsea and finally at Vincent, but in short bursts and glances. He was a handsome boy, most likely around her brother and her age. His hair was brown but showed signs of having been dyed before; the tips of his hair still had a few strands of silver hair. He donned a casual outfit of jeans and a tee shirt with a hammer logo. Underneath were the words, "Saibara's Blacksmith. All types of tools welcome!" The boy had the look of someone who had seen too much and been through too much and yet, through some heaven made possible means, he still kept the look of innocence on his face. Scanning his eyes, he had the same brown colored eyes that Natalie and her brother possessed.

Suddenly the boy looked away from Chelsea and the mess she called a brother and turned towards her, making eye contact. She immediately looked away, blushing madly like her brother was, only for a completely different reason. The hue of her face soon imitated her hair color and eventually came to the same color as her brother's face. Glancing back at the boy, he smiled gently at her causing her to jump and say, rather loudly, "Well! I think we better clean this up before gramps returns!" She scurried into the kitchen grabbing a mop and a rag. Tossing the mop at her brother she growled, "Get to it already! You know that Gramps will return at any given moment!"

After aiding their friends with cleaning up eggs, milk and yogurt, the two of them walked out barely able to say goodbye. "That was awkward," Vincent scribbled down on his pad, "I didn't catch their names either," Chelsea smiled and ruffled her younger cousin's hair playfully, something she hadn't done since her days as a youthful woman herself. "The girl's name is Natalie. She's bossy and constantly teasing and being a bully to her older brother, but she's a kind girl at heart. The boy's name is Elliot. He's the complete opposite of his sister. Soft hearted, kind, but he doesn't know how to fend for himself. I mean, Natalie IS younger and she still has the upper hand in arguments. Not to mention how—" she thought for a bit, looking for the right words, "…fragile he is." Shrugging she said, "I mean. That crate wasn't that heavy. I could lift it…"

Charlie was out at the moment so Chen decided to take the chance to straighten up his stocks and supplies. It was a good peaceful few moments. Sure Charlie was a great help and he was a great son as well. The boy did as he was told and never horse played in the store. He never spoke back and he worked hard at his part with the wonderful stones he helped attached to their customers' tools. Still, it was nice to have the store to himself. It was quiet time and quiet time was the best time. He loved the boy, a lot, but he loved his peace and quiet just as much. He straightened a few cans on the shelf and restocked a couple of empty baskets before repositioning himself back behind the counters.

When the bell above his door rung, Chen looked up. Seeing who it was, he grinned and said, "Chelsea! How are you?" His gaze goes over her shoulders and landed at the boy who trailed behind Chelsea like a duckling, "Who have you brought?"

Chelsea smiled, "I didn't bring him. He brought himself to us. Meet my cousin, Chen. His name's Vincent. I've told you a bit about him right?" The man nodded stroking his beard, "Oh! I remember him!" Leaving his counter he walks over and clasped Vincent's shoulders, "Your cousin, here, came just last season asking me about strawberry seeds. She shared your whole life story with me in a mere 30 minutes as she shopped!" Shaking Vincent's hand he nodded, "My name is Chen. I have a son too, but he's a child. He's not here right now, but I'm sure if you stop by later, you'll meet him! It is a pleasure to meet you."

It struck Vincent that this was the first formal introduction since William, and as he was, now, a family member, it didn't count. The cook, Pierre, was too busy to truly notice him. Elliot was too flustered with his mistake and the broken goods and Natalie probably developed a crush on him by now, not to mention how they were scurried out of the house so fast, he wouldn't have known their names if he hadn't asked Chelsea. Vincent shook the older man's hand and nodded writing, "It is a pleasure to meet you Chen. I hope to become nice friends with you." The message was a bit dry and emotionless so Vincent opt to draw a smiley face next to the word "you". Reading the message, Chen smiled and patted Vincent on the shoulders again, "Welcome to Sunshine Island, Vincent."

"_Welcome to my room, Vince!" Gray pushed open the inn door and ushered his best friend into the room before entering himself, closing the door behind him with a light click. Vincent looked around in awe, noting at how neat it was. Grinning he turned at Gray, "So…I take it my organization skills worked?"_

_Gray crossed his arms and let out a humph, "More like I just moved in and my clothes are still at gramps." He patted the bed, signaling for Vincent to sit down before planting himself next to him. The two sat in silence for a while before Vincent grinned at Gray, "So! You're 16! Get to move out, have your own place! Lucky duck! I still have a whole year before I can do that myself." _

_Gray shrugged, "Can't live with gramps forever ya know? I mean, the blacksmith is constantly sweltering with heat! The room is no different with just a __**slight **__three degrees or so lower in temperature. Not to mention the size!" He went on to complain about Saibara's room. It was the same every three weeks or so prior to the move. Gray would always mumble about his grandfather's bedroom at the blacksmith. He had said it enough times to rehearse it word for word to anyone willing to listen, which would usually be his best friend, Vincent. _

_Gray had grown up with his grandfather. He'd known the heat since he was still a baby would couldn't walk and talk, not the ideal place to raise a child. He slept in his grandfather's room on a bedroll rather than a proper mattress. As a child, as a precaution to hyperthermia, Saibara had brought in fans and did install air conditioning. As Gray grew and passed the "fragile baby stages" Saibara removed the air conditioners but kept the fan, "A man's gotta sweat! How will you learn if you can't take the heat?" The floor was hard and the bedroll did not help much. It was a boring room without a single television or book that didn't involve different types of minerals and rocks or what tools were called what. He didn't start liking those books until he got older, in which by then Saibara's passion began to peel and rub off onto his grandson. _

"_I have my own bed now!" He pounded the mattress with his fist, a hard rough fist that was shaped with years of training with Saibara. He ran his hand over the fluffy bedding and blankets before plopping down, laying with his hand across his eyes, "I have my own room, own privacy, own entertainment, own bed, own dressers…" _

_Vincent looked over and for a second he could feel a flutter in his stomach. Nodding, he laid down and thought, __**Own room huh? I have my own room. I just wish I felt the same freedom as you did buddy.**__ For a second the two of them laid there silently, one loving his freedom, the other free but still trapped. _

_Free but still trapped…_

_Free but still trapped…_

"Vincent?" He blinked and smiled signing, "What?"

"You were staring off into space just now. Are you okay?" Chelsea asked.

"Oh yeah! At the mention of the island…all I could think of was…Elliot's beet red face when you walked in on him," he lied. There was a laugh shared between the three before Chelsea decided to ease Chen's curious air by giving him the story about Elliot's misfortune this morning. "I mean…I worked hard on the eggs and milk and don't forget the time spent in processing and fermenting the yogurt—Oh! But he didn't have to fuss so badly about it! It wasn't so big of a deal!"

Pretending to listen to Chelsea, Vincent grinned when he heard Chen laugh.

_I wonder how Gray is doing?_

Vaughn was out for the moment, but it didn't matter much to Mirabelle or her daughter. After all, his appearance was often no difference to the environment. Though he was as honest, hardworking, fair and good man, he was too quiet and sometimes his expressions scared off visitors, especially Charlie and Eliza. He was even cold to Chelsea when she first came, though the two seemed to improve overtime.

Julia came in as Mirabelle was dusting off dirt off the register and counter, "Ma! I'm back! The animals are fed and a couple of the hens laid eggs. Do you want them hatched or sold?" Maribelle looked up with a smile, "Sold. Vaughn said something about bringing a new shipment of chicks next week anyways so there is no point." Julia nodded turning to the stove, "Should I start with making lunch? I found some grapes from my morning walk today. I'm thinking a nice jelly and bread with milk would be a decent lunch."

A cold shudder went through Mirabelle from her chest out to her extremities. Her daughter was one of the worst cooks she'd ever seen in her life. Mirabelle had met Karen, from Mineral Town, before and even she was no match for her daughter's foul cooking. Julia would even burn water! _Does she even know how to make jam? _Trying her hardest to hide her fear and disappointment-_I have __**truly tried **__to teach her cooking. Maybe it's my teaching skills- _of her daughter's food and dishes she said, "Oh! Julie dear, I was thinking of heading off to the diner or the café to grab lunch today—" _THINK THINK!_ "It's awfully hot and Nick and Haila's got air conditioning. I do sorely crave Haila's steamed egg custards."

Julia shrugged, knowing that it wasn't truly hot and that her mother was only avoiding her cooking, but she loved her mother, "Okay. Sure. I guess I don't mind some cool refreshing yogurt." She forced a smile and went into the room with a, "I'm going to change out of my work clothes first, okay ma?"

_Good job, Mirabelle. You successfully hurt your daughter's feelings,_ Mirabelle told herself with a frown. At least Julia took it well better than she thought she would, _Well I hope she took it well…_

Just then, the door opened with the bell jingling signifying a customer. "I'm sorry we're closed for lunch. Can you—"

"Mirabelle!" Chelsea bounded in with a boy tolling behind like a tug-a-duck without the rope. She gave the woman a hug before pulling a hand to her mouth, "Oops. Were you planning to head out?"

"Oh yes. I'm sorry dear for inconveniencing you. We'll be back later." Peering behind her and then left and right, Mirabelle leaned toward's Chelsea and whispered, "Well I usually don't eat out until after we close…but Julia was planning on cooking for lunch. I should I made lunch earlier, but it was too hot." Chelsea nodded with sympathy. Julia was an awful cook, and everyone knew it. She was sure Julia knew it as well.

Turning around to usher Vincent over she said, "Not buying today though. I've plenty of feed and I don't have any sick animal to cure, but I am here to show my cousin around. I won't take long. Just a short introduction is fine. Vince?"

Vincent smiled and waved before writing in his pad, "Nice to meet you. My name is Vincent Matthew Goodwill." He held his hand out to shake Mirabelle's hand.

"Oh! The one Chelsea is always talking about? Nice to meet you finally! Here I was about to explode with all of the Vincent talk but never getting to actually meet you." Instead of shaking Vincent's hand, she gave him a big bear hug, "Welcome to Sunshine Island deary buns!" She reared back towards a room and shouted, "Julie! We have a guest!"

Another woman came out from the room, but unlike Mirabelle she wasn't short or chubby. In fact, she was gorgeous. Pulling free of the bear hug from the older woman Vincent waved at the new woman by the doorway with a shy smile on his face. The girl was tall, very tall and her white boots only made her taller. She had long chest length hair that she was brushing into a high pony-tail. She wore short blue jeans and had an open shirt over a crop top, leaving her navel bare. She was a hot woman causing Vincent to blush.

Julia didn't seem to notice this as she was busy with her pony tail and brush, but she did have a huge smile on, "You're Vincent right? I wouldn't expect Chelsea to stroll in with new guests other than you! Nice to meet you!" Finishing up with her hair she disappeared into the room again and returning, this time without the brush. She gave Vincent a small hug-_What is with this family with hugs over shakes?- _before introducing herself, "I'm Julia! My fiancé is Elliot. You met him right?" _What? WHATTTT?! _He heard Chelsea snicker at his expression. Noticing that his mouth was hanging wide open he snapped it shut with a blush and then a glare toward's Chelsea. Julia seemed confused-_ Thank the Harvest Goddess…_- and said, "What? I don't get it?" She turned towards Chelsea who seemed too into her fit of giggles to answer so she turned to her mother with a shrug, "What?"

Taking the chance to answer Vincent said, "Never mind her. She's loon. My name's Vincent. I'm Chelsea's cousin from her father's side. I'm here to visit a bit. Nice to meet you, Julia." Like with Chen's introduction he added a smile at the end.

Chelsea stopped laughing, "Ok. We have to go. I used to tell Will how small this island is but once you start introducing someone to your fellow villagers, you'll notice that suddenly the island's not so uninhabited anymore." With a wink at Mirabelle, who was still smiling at Vincent she said, "I'm sure you guys were heading out anyways. Have fun at…Haila's…Nick's…?"

Mirabelle followed them out with Julia behind her as she locked up the barn shaped store, "We're heading to Haila's Café for lunch. You should take your cousin there for a treat!" She gave Vincent a wink and ruffled his hair, "Try again, deary. There are plenty of fishies in the sea!"

As Chelsea left tugging away a mumbling Vincent, he could hear the conversation between Julia and her mother, "What? I still don't get it! Ma!"

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**There Ya go :o**

**A Chapter Four. Part 1 of 2 of Vincent's tour around Sunshine Island. Next chapter will be Sprout Island and the rest of the islands.**

**Thanks for Reading, Reviews would be nice of course 3**


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